Scan barcode
A review by davybaby
Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
4.0
Spoon River Anthology is a collection of poems, each from the perspective of a townsperson in Spoon River. All are dead, and reflect back on their lives. Reading it is reminiscent of walking through an old graveyard and wondering about its residents.
Things I love:
1. The use of perspective. By presenting a person's view of their life and then contrasting it with a spouse, friend or family member, Masters exhibits many textbook examples of dramatic or comedic irony.
2. It was famously based on Masters' town, with many of the specific events, characters, and names based on people Masters knew in life. This brought a fair amount of scandal, as many of the epitaphs in SRA are unflattering.
3. Released in 1915, it was preoccupied with the concerns of the Midwestern late 1800s. The Civil War and Lincoln's death had left scars on many of the characters, and helped to humanize the history of the time.
I love a collection whose parts work together. It combines the crude and thoughtless cruelties of life with beauty and high-minded aspiration. By showing many lives consecutively, it creates an aggregate view of life's possibilities (and lack of guarantees).
Some poems are definitely stronger than others, but this also works thematically. Like people, some of the poems have less to say than others; their perspective is less nuanced and there is less to connect to.
It was a really good read. If you're a fan of poetry or turn of the century American lit, I'd highly recommend it.
Things I love:
1. The use of perspective. By presenting a person's view of their life and then contrasting it with a spouse, friend or family member, Masters exhibits many textbook examples of dramatic or comedic irony.
2. It was famously based on Masters' town, with many of the specific events, characters, and names based on people Masters knew in life. This brought a fair amount of scandal, as many of the epitaphs in SRA are unflattering.
3. Released in 1915, it was preoccupied with the concerns of the Midwestern late 1800s. The Civil War and Lincoln's death had left scars on many of the characters, and helped to humanize the history of the time.
I love a collection whose parts work together. It combines the crude and thoughtless cruelties of life with beauty and high-minded aspiration. By showing many lives consecutively, it creates an aggregate view of life's possibilities (and lack of guarantees).
Some poems are definitely stronger than others, but this also works thematically. Like people, some of the poems have less to say than others; their perspective is less nuanced and there is less to connect to.
It was a really good read. If you're a fan of poetry or turn of the century American lit, I'd highly recommend it.